The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has dismissed allegations that candidates from private schools who sat for the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) were deliberately awarded poor grades, describing the claims as false and without any factual basis.
The Council said all candidates were assessed using the same marking and grading procedures, regardless of whether they attended public or private schools.
It added that its examination processes were guided by fairness, objectivity, consistency and integrity.
At a press conference in Accra yesterday, the Head of Public Affairs of WAEC, Mr John Kapi, said the Council was compelled to address the allegations to reassure parents, guardians, school proprietors, education authorities and the public that the credibility of the examination process had not been compromised.
He explained that WAEC had implemented strict quality assurance measures throughout the marking process to guarantee fairness and impartiality.
Mr Kapi said examination scripts were coded, packaged and randomly distributed to examiners, while scripts were exchanged across regions to ensure that examiners did not know the identities of candidates whose papers they marked.
He said all scripts were marked using approved marking schemes developed by experts in the various subject areas, adding that examiners from both public and private schools were trained on the schemes before marking commenced.
“Under no circumstances does WAEC discriminate against candidates on the basis of whether they attended private or public schools,” Mr Kapi stressed.
He said the Council did not operate separate marking schemes or grading systems for candidates from public and private schools, describing such claims as misconceptions that had been addressed on several occasions.
Explaining the grading system, Mr Kapi said WAEC used the Stanine, or Standard Nine, grading method, which assesses a candidate’s performance in relation to the performance of all candidates who sat a particular subject.
He said all candidates formed part of the same cohort and were graded from One to Nine based on the overall distribution of scores rather than fixed percentage ranges.
According to him, the system ensured fairness by accounting for variations in the difficulty levels of examination papers from year to year while maintaining consistent standards.
“Accordingly, a candidate’s grade is determined solely by his or her performance in relation to established grading standards and not by the type of school attended,” he stated.
Mr Kapi urged the public to disregard claims that WAEC deliberately disadvantaged private school candidates, noting that such allegations undermined confidence in the examination system and were not supported by evidence.
He advised stakeholders with concerns about examination results to use the Council’s established channels to seek clarification instead of relying on speculation and misinformation.
Mr Kapi reaffirmed WAEC’s commitment to maintaining professionalism, transparency and integrity in the conduct of public examinations.
He also expressed appreciation to the government, the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service, school authorities, parents and the public for their continued confidence in the council.
BY BENEDICTA GYIMAAH FOLLEY
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